Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[WinglessOne]

Thanks so much, @Titian06 @Saradestin @RGbrown @itsfi ! Someone asked why I was so aggravated over that dang Eyegazer and look man, you just don't understand... I had a creative vision, dang it! 🤣 But Eivor definitely made me happy again. 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

Ugh, yuck, so sorry that Eyegazer was such a massive pain, but your resulting mani is fabulous! 😍 Eivor is gorgeous, I love all of your layering combos, and purple and green is such an excellent combo 💚💜✨

[Saradestin]

I am sorry you had such a disappointing experience with Eyegazer @WinglessOne . But the many you ended up with looks very beautiful. I love Eivor so much. And I have liked Clover and Over since the first time I saw it. Gorgeous mani! 

[itsfi]

@WinglessOne,  ack, sorry to hear about your Halloween mani plans not going the way you wanted them to. It lead to these greens and purples and they are gorgeous!! 😍 I love the sandwich you made with I Only Gamble With My Life and Kelly Jelly. I actually like the look of them paired together more than as separate polish shades, though they are pretty worn that way as well. 

[RGbrown]

It is time to start getting your Black Friday lists ready! 🛍️🛒🏷️

PPU has put up their annual indie sales page; there's not a lot on it yet, but it'll get much bigger as we move through November!

polishpickup dot com/pages/indie-black-friday-sales

 

[Saradestin]

Oh no! Here they are! And from now on it will be a constant drop of sale after sale @RGbrown ! 😅

[CookieGirl1]

@Saradestin not mad about it!

[Saradestin]

I’m not mad @CookieGirl1 , but my wallet is 😅💸💸💸💸

[CookieGirl1]

@Saradestin I feel this...

[Titian06]

Hey, all!  The What's Up 30% off stamping supplies that @RGbrown posted a few pages back had an end date of Tue, 2 Nov.  It is still on today, Wed, 2 Nov.  I placed my order this morning and got the sales price.  The banner is also running at the top of the screen.

[Saradestin]

Thank you so much for the heads up @Titian06! I placed my order already and it is being processed. So anxious to receive them and experiment! 

[Titian06]

I'm sure you'll do fine!  It wasn't as difficult as I had envisioned.  I recommend trying it on a mani your planning to remove.  That way you don't make a mess on freshly polished nails.  I also recommend working on top of a paper towel to catch any mess and to have something handy in case you need it.

[Saradestin]

Yes @Titian06 ! I will be doing a lot of testing before going for a serious stamp experience. I am sure I will have some good ones that will make me feel regret not doing them on fresh painted nails 😅

[RGbrown]

@Titian06 @Saradestin 

Another great way to practice is on a silicone mat (I've got a cheap one that's actually intended to be a baking sheet liner, but I never really cared for it in that function, so I repurposed it to my nail mat. Nail mats are overpriced IMHO, but there are alternatives!) or scrap plastic. I've got a few plastic lids I've saved from sour cream tubs and the like, and I use them as palettes when I want to see how well a polish will stamp, or make marble decals, or need a few drops of polish for whatever art I'm doing. Once fully dry, thicker bits of polish will peel right up, and acetone will take care of the rest whenever I'm ready to clean them off and have a blank slate again.

That stupid spiderweb stamp never came out cleanly, so I knew to skip using it!

[Saradestin]

Great tips @RGbrown ! Thank you so much! All suggestions, ideas and alternatives are always welcome! 😃

[Titian06]

Great idea, @RGbrown !  I'm all for hacks!  I saw the price on the mat Maniology sells and said, "nope, nope, nope!"  Hence the paper towel. 😄

[RGbrown]

@Titian06 

It's crazy how expensive some things can get when you start drilling down into a hobby and look at "specialized" stuff like a nail mat. Thankfully that's an easy one to find a much cheaper hack for! I think you could probably get away with something like those disposable cutting mats if you happen to have any...not sure if they're made out of an acetone resistant plastic, but even if not, you could get multiple uses out of one before tossing it for a clean sheet. Heck, even a plastic baggie will do for swatches and such! 

[Cissy63]

@RGbrown  I have use a decent sized piece of plastic wrap to mix colors when I am painting ( art work not painting my walls)

[RGbrown]

@Cissy63 

Yup, that'll work too! 

[RGbrown]

Yay, glad to hear the typo was the longer of the two possibilities!

For anyone getting into stamping, WUN has been a huge source for me. Their semi-annual sale in Jan and Jul typically has quite a few plates available, anywhere from 20-80% off, and I usually wind up with several that I like (or way too many, as the case may be lol). They do other sales throughout the year too, like this one, where you can choose from their entire catalog with a nice discount as well.

There are also sources like Amazon and AliExpress and shein and wish, but personally, I shy away from going for "cheapest option possible". Plates are easy to make poorly, and after getting some cheapies off Amazon that are utter garbage, I decided I wasn't going down that rabbit hole anymore, no sense wasting time or money by trying to cheap out. Stamping can be tricky as it is, and I didn't see a good enough reason to add to the frustration by trying to figure out a way to make subpar products work.

That's just me though, I've seen lots of great results from no name plates that were probably cheap as all get out, so please don't feel like you can't go that way if you so desire! 

[Saradestin]

Thank you so much for your feedback @RGbrown! You have tried a lot of products and know perfectly well which ones work and which ones don’t. I appreciate your opinion because it is always fact based and so valuable. I purchased WUN plates and let’s see what I can get done with them! At least the failure, if it happens, will be exclusively on me. 😁